Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you. 1 Peter 5:7 NLT
Cast all your cares on him because he cares for you. 1 Peter 5:7 NIV
Peter was a professional fisherman, fishing with nets instead of solitary poles. Jesus called, “Come and I will make you a fisher of men!” Peter answered, Jesus kept His word, and He also made Peter a more effective fisherman out on the sea when He followed Jesus’ leadership. John 21 and Luke 5 both tell of miserably failed attempts at fishing before Jesus came along and told Peter and the others to cast their nets on the other side of the boat. Casting nets was heavy, intentional work that demanded real effort. Luke says they had been fishing all night and were exhausted. It didn’t seem reasonable for a carpenter (Jesus) to advise them (professional fisherman) to put back out and cast their nets again. Peter expressed his opinion to Jesus but said, “Because you say so, we will.” So, they went back out and cast the nets again as Jesus said. The haul was so large they had to call for another boat to come share the load. Both boats nearly sank with the amazing catch.
That adds special significance to this statement from Peter. He knew from personal, in the flesh lived out experience that Jesus was the miracle worker who understood the need, had the capacity to meet it, and possessed the care and concern that He would. But Peter was also aware, from following Jesus for years at this point of writing, that transferring our cares and worries to God was not casual. We can easily understand from any translation of Peter’s words that we need to surrender our worries to God, but the heavy lifting of doing that does not translate well with the word “give,” as we see in several versions. “Give” is defined as “to freely transfer possession of something to another.” It implies a casual, easy transfer, polite and unhurried. The definition of “cast” is “to throw something forcefully.” Think of Matthew 25 where Jesus uses the same word, saying those who oppose His Kingdom will be “cast into outer darkness.” That is definitive and forceful action. If you’ve ever fished with a pole, you know that you need to put some weight behind it when you cast the line. To cast a net was heavy, intentional work. You couldn’t multitask while casting. You had to be all in for it to be effective.
Yes, we are to surrender our worries, anxieties, and burdens to God, trusting He will handle them because He cares for us deeply. But we must approach it with intentional and forceful relinquishment, not just laying them on the table while we discuss them with God. The way to win over worry is to bring them to God and throw them forcefully, intentionally into His management. Make it a lifestyle. When those anxieties and fears start to surface in your mind, immediately toss them back like they are poison. They are.
- God, help me to treat my worries like the danger they are. Help me intentionally and forcefully throw them back on You. You can handle what I cannot.